Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

by Ann VanderMeer (Editor)

Paperback, 2015

Status

Checked out

Genres

Publication

PM Press (2015), 352 pages

Description

Sisters of the Revolution gathers a highly curated selection of feminist speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror and more) chosen by one of the most respected editorial teams in speculative literature today, the award-winning Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Including stories from the 1970s to the present day, the collection seeks to expand the conversation about feminism while engaging the reader in a wealth of imaginative ideas. Sisters of the Revolution seeks to expand the ideas of both contemporary fiction and feminism to new fronts.

Media reviews

Los Angeles Times

Those who don't possess a buried memory of humankind's obscure and ancient past are condemned to repeat it. So thank the Goddess for "Sisters of the Revolution," a superlative new anthology of previously published feminist science fiction by female writers, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Noted

editors of numerous anthologies of speculative fiction, the VanderMeers have compiled one of the best volumes of feminist — or any other — science fiction in years.

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User reviews

LibraryThing member chelseagirl

An exemplary collection of feminist speculative fiction, with a nice combination of contemporary and classic authors. Although, as with all anthologies, some stories appeal more than others, there wasn't a story here that I felt didn't belong. (Disclaimer: I was a Kickstarter backer for this

project, which really just means I paid for my copy quite a bit in advance.)

Stories that especially stood out for me:
"The Forbidden Words of Margaret A." by L. Timmel Duchamp
Speculative *legal* fiction about a woman, seemingly ordinary, but the power of whose words are so intense the Constitution has been amended to stop her.
"The Screwfly Solution" by James Tiptree Jr.
Best last line ever.
"Gestella" by Susan Palwick
What if a werewolf fell in love with a human? How would that actually work?
"When It Changed" by Joanna Russ
A classic that I should have known already; powerful.
"The Evening and the Morning and the Night" by Octavia Butler
A horrifying new disease, human-created, and the issues of stigma and treatment -- which sounds maybe dull, but is incredibly not so.
"The Grammarian's Five Daughters" by Eleanor Arnason
A fairy tale to make an English professor smile. A lot.

In addition to these writers, there's Ursula LeGuin, Angela Carter, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor, Carol Emshwiller, Eileen Gunn, Karin Tidbeck and many others. If you're interested in speculative fiction from a feminist view point, this is a must-have.

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5 more

LibraryThing member iansales

I supported the kickstarter for this as it sounded like a project worth supporting and, after a period that was longer than expected, it finally arrived. And… it was worth the wait. It’s a strong and varied selection around ten of the twenty-nine stories in the anthology. I’m amused by the

back-cover blurb’s description of thr anthology as a “highly curated selection”, as if the VanderMeers put MOAR EFFORT into it than every other anthology editor. Having said that, I don’t know how many stories they read in order to make their choices. but judging by comments on Twitter, Facebook, etc, it was a hell of a lot. I don’t think every story they chose works, although that’s more a matter of personal taste – I’m not a fan of genre fiction that plays fast and loose with rigour, or indeed any mode of fiction that does, nor stories that are too allegorical or too consciously presented as fables. Which is not to say there are not some bloody good stories in Sisters of the Revolution – in fact, the opener, ‘The Forbidden Words of Margaret A.’ by L Timmel Duchamp, is one of the best stories I’ve read in a long time. And Ursula LeGuin’s ‘Sur’ was not only new to me but also one of the best by her I’ve ever read. James Tiptree Jr’s ‘The Screwfly Solution’ remains as scarily effective as it was the day I first read it. Octavia Butler’s ‘The Evening and the Morning and the Night’, Kelly Barnhill’s ‘The Men Who Live in Trees’, Angela Carter’s ‘The Fall River Axe Murders’, Joanna Russ’s ‘When It Changed’ and Eileen Gunn’s ‘Stable Strategies for Middle Management’ are all worth the price of admission. I’d definitely say Sisters of the Revolution is one of the strongest anthologies I’ve seen for quite a while.

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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne

This isn't my normal reading matter, but I really, really wanted to read Ursula LeGuin's Sur, and this seemed the easiest way to get it. Was that story worth buying the book? Yes. Would the book have been worth buying without Sur? Probably, but I would probably not have run into it.

No, I didn't

like all the stories. There was one I didn't finish, and another I shouldn't have. A few that left me without any real feeling. And several that I didn't enjoy. But most of the stories, whether or not I enjoyed reading them, were worth reading, worth thinking about.

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LibraryThing member e2d2

Like all good books, this one seemed to jump off the shelf of the bookstore at the right time when I needed it. I'm not finished with this book - yet. But I had to write a review anyway.

This is the kind of literature I want in my life, in the world, in classrooms and on lists of The Best. These are

the kinds of stories I want the next generation to grow up on. These are stories that explore and lift up the complexities of what it is to be a woman - in the past and in the now and in the future. A mother and not a mother; a daughter and a sister; to know womanhood as involving men but fighting against a history of being defined by them; to be a lover or never love at all; to be a man that menstruates and a woman that owns power; where friendship is complicated and more beautiful than romance.

These stories remind me of the pieces of myself that I hide from the world because all but a few in the world can accept how complicated it is to be female and woman and powerful and gentle. Every story leaves me wanting to sit with it after it's done, to think and reflect and feel. This is not something I generally do with my stories; because most are good romps and I'm ready for the next one. But these ... these are going to stay with me to re-read for a life.

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LibraryThing member mykl-s

Stories, all well worth reading.

LibraryThing member Zoes_Human

An impressive collection of feminist speculative fiction including not only those voices that one would expect (Butler, Le Guin, Tiptree, etc.) but a host of other storytellers who are seldom heard. Thought-provoking and intriguing across the board.

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